The regular season is over for Pac-10 basketball, and with the men’s conference awards being announced Monday, it’s time to look at how the awards on the women’s side could fall later this week.
Here are The State Press’ predictions for the key Pac-10 awards. Player of the Year: Nnemkadi Ogwumike, sophomore forward, Stanford
Ogwumike had a breakout sophomore season, spearheading the dominant Stanford post unit that was the best in the nation. Not the easiest thing to do when the reigning Pac-10 Player of the Year, Stanford senior Jayne Appel, is also part of that same lethal inside game.
Ogwumike led the conference in scoring (18.2 points per game) and field-goal percentage (.638) while also ranking third in rebounding (9.4 per game).
The scary thing for the rest of the Pac-10 is that Ogwumike still has two years left with the Cardinal. And with the departure of Appel and Connecticut senior center Tina Charles coming after this season, Ogwumike is the likely candidate to emerge as the nation’s most feared post player next season.
Coach of the Year: Nikki Caldwell, UCLA
Caldwell has already made her mark at UCLA in her second year with the program, quickly taking the Bruins from team that had not made the NCAA Tournament since the 2005-06 season to one that is a lock for the Big Dance as clearly the Pac-10’s second-best team.
UCLA has been particularly stingy on the defensive end of the floor, ranking second in the conference in scoring defense (57 points per game) and field-goal percentage defense (.364).
Caldwell has also done a great job continuing to groom the players that were in Westwood when she arrived, such as junior guard Doreena Campbell and senior guard Erica Tukiainen, and bringing in fresh new talent, such as freshman forward Markel Walker and sophomore forward Jasmine Dixon, that have made an immediate impact.
Freshman of the Year: Markel Walker, forward, UCLA
While UA guard Davellyn Whyte is the Pac-10’s top freshman scorer, Walker gets the nod because her game is more versatile. Walker ranks eighth in the Pac-10 in rebounding (7.6 per game) and sixth in steals (2.07 per game) while also scoring 10.8 points per game.
Defensive Player of the Year: Ify Ibekwe, junior forward, UA
The first two years of this award’s existence, it went to former ASU guard Briann January, so now it’s probably due for it to go to an inside player.
And Ibekwe has certainly earned it.
The junior forward has had another stellar all-around season, but much of her influence on the game comes on the defensive end.
Though she stands just 6-foot-2, Ibekwe is tied for sixth in the nation in rebounding (11.3 per game) and also ranks in the top 10 in the Pac-10 in steals (2.17 per game) and blocked shots (1.21 per game).
Reach the reporter at gina.mizell@asu.edu
